Type I interferons are essential while type II interferon is dispensable for protection against St. Louis encephalitis virus infection in the mouse brain.

ABSTRACT: St. Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV) is a neglected mosquito-borne flavivirus that causes severe neurological disease in humans. SLEV replication in the central nervous system (CNS) induces the local production of interferons (IFNs), which are attributed to host protection. The antiviral response to SLEV infection in the CNS is not completely understood, which led us to characterize the roles of IFNs using mouse models of St. Louis encephalitis. We infected mice deficient in type I IFN receptor (ABR^-/-) or deficient in Type II IFN (IFNγ^-/-) and assessed the contribution of each pathway to disease development. We found that type I and II IFNs play different roles in SLEV infection. Deficiency in type I IFN signaling was associated to an early and increased mortality, un

SUBMITTER: Rocha RF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7808420 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature